Sunak calls for minimum wage quango to be abolished Politics Former Chancellor and Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has said that his decisions to hike the national minimum wage backfired as he called for a quango overseeing low pay to be abolished. Sunak appeared to admit that his decision to increase the national living wage has contributed to job struggles faced by young people. In an [...]
London to be hit hardest as jobs market struggles through 2026 Economics The jobs market is set to worsen throughout the year, with UK employment forecast to suffer a net loss of 163,000 jobs. That’s according to research from the ITEM Club, which has found that London is set to bear the largest absolute decline, shedding an estimated 25,000 positions as its retail and hospitality sectors slow. [...]
‘Stuff of nightmares’: Hold interest rates, City AM Shadow MPC says Economics Interest rates should be left unchanged in April but the future path of monetary policy could be unclear, City AM’s Shadow Monetary Policy Committee has suggested. A group of City economists and academics has called for interest rates to be left at 3.75 per cent on Thursday, citing the risk of higher inflation due to [...]
Bank of England to avoid signalling faster interest rate cuts February 4, 2026 The Bank of England will not signal a faster pace of interest rate cuts over the coming months to combat jobs market woes across the UK economy, with some economists fearing it could send markets mixed messages on monetary policy. Markets expect interest rates to be held at 3.75 per cent on Thursday due to [...]
Bank of England should hold interest rates, City AM Shadow MPC says February 3, 2026 The Bank of England should hold interest rates to get inflation back down to two per cent, City AM’s Shadow Monetary Policy Committee has said, as policymakers find insufficient evidence to lower borrowing costs. The nine economists, who responded independently from their respective organisations, said recent data on price growth should be treated cautiously by [...]
Bosses hold up wage growth expectations amid inflation tensions January 8, 2026 Company bosses have cut their wage growth expectations for the year ahead, Bank of England data has suggested, with inflation pressures on Britons easing. Finance chiefs across private sector firms are set to raise wages by smaller amounts than seen in the last year, which could sway some Bank policymakers to lower borrowing costs further. [...]
Redundancies hit highest level since pandemic as unemployment climbs higher December 16, 2025 The UK unemployment rate jumped above the 5 per cent mark and redundancies surged to their highest level since the pandemic. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) published damning figures on Tuesday morning that will likely send chills throughout the Labour government ministers ahead of the Christmas break. It said the number of payrolled employess [...]
Public sector jobs and pay increase while private sector struggles December 16, 2025 Public sector employment jumped in September while the number of workers in the private sector fell, official statistics have shown. Employment in the public sector increased by 7,000 in the three months to September 2025 as total employment reached 6.2m. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said employment in central government hit a record high [...]
Business chiefs: Employment will be hit by minimum wage hike November 25, 2025 Business chiefs have criticised Rachel Reeves’ decision to hike the national living wage by more than 4 per cent for most British workers at the Budget. In a final announcement before unveiling the full set of fiscal measures, the Chancellor said she would back the Low Pay Commission’s recommendations to raise the minimum wage to [...]
Jobs market decline ‘fuels hopes’ for Bank of England interest rate cut November 11, 2025 The jump in the unemployment rate and softening private sector wage growth is driving up expectations of an interest rate cut at the Bank of England’s next meeting in mid-December. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said the unemployment rate had jumped to 5 per cent, higher than economists had expected, while wage growth had [...]